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by Chris Yarosh When we think about the role of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in biomedical
research, we often think only in terms of dollars and cents. The NIH is a
funding agency, after all, and most researchers submit grants with this
relationship in mind. However, because the NIH holds the power of the purse, it
also plays a large role in dictating the scope of biomedical research conducted
in the U.S. It is noteworthy, then, that the NIH recently delayed some high profile grant applications related to one type of research: chimeras. Chimeras, named
for a Greek mythological monster composed of several different animals, are
organisms that feature cells that are genetically distinct. In the lab, this commonly refers to animals that contain cells from more than once species. Research into chimeras
is not new; scientists have been successfully using animal/animal (e.g.
sheep/goat) chimeras for over 30 years to learn about how animals develop. Human/animal
chimeras are also a…